Police: Man took 'three hits of acid' before shooting

Female victim critical after Selbyville violence

Oct. 2, 2013

Written by

Terri Sanginiti

The News Journal

SELBYVILLE — A Selbyville man accused of shooting a 25-year-old female neighbor in the head told investigators he had taken “three hits of acid” six hours before he allegedly fired his .32 caliber revolver into her forehead as the pair sat talking inside her Jeep Cherokee, police said in court records.

The victim, identified in court records as Lauren Banks, of the first block of Hosier Street, still remains hospitalized Wednesday in Christiana Hospital in critical condition, Delaware State Police Master Cpl. Gary Fournier said.

Devon N. Gordon, 18, meanwhile, remained jailed Wednesday facing two counts of attempted murder and three counts of possession of a firearm during a felony.

Court records did not say why Gordon did what he did.

Eric Whittaker, a 19-year-old Hosier Street resident, who said Wednesday that Gordon was his best friend, called him “a good kid” but said he had a troubled past. Dianey Camacho, an 18-year-old Selbyville resident, used to ride the school bus with Gordon.

“He was more of an isolated kid,” she said. “You wouldn’t expected him to shoot someone. He didn’t say bad words, he was always calm, never rude.”

According to court records, Gordon told detectives that he took three hits of acid in his bedroom after getting home from work about 9:30 p.m. Monday.

Banks called him at 2 a.m. Tuesday and asked “if he wanted to come next door to see her,” he said.

The suspect then left through the rear door of his home, taking a .32 caliber revolver with him and placing it inside his right front pants pocket, court records state.

Gordon told investigators that he owns two handguns, which he keeps in his bedroom — the .32 caliber Smith and Wesson 5-shot revolver and a .25 ACP Colt semi-automatic 7-shot handgun, police said in court papers.

The two sat inside the Jeep that was parked in the driveway but court records do not indicate what prompted the gun to be fired.

Gordon told detectives he “could not remember” shooting Banks, going home and knocking on his front door or going to the back door shooting through the glass door at his mother’s boyfriend, according to court records.

Police said in court records that when Gordon’s mother’s boyfriend was interviewed, he told detectives that he heard a gunshot outside that was followed by someone banging on the front door.

When the victim went to look out the window to see who was knocking, he heard another shot ring out and the sound of shattering glass in the rear of the home, and he turned around to see the suspect standing on the rear deck pointing a gun at him through the glass door, police said.

The victim then opened the door and disarmed the suspect, who talked to his mother briefly before going upstairs to retrieve a second gun, records show.

The victim followed and found the suspect pointing a semi-automatic handgun at him, which he fired and missed the victim but hit the door behind him, according to court records.

Gordon is being held in the Sussex Correctional Institution after failing to post $310,000 cash bail.